


This is Home

by zimny



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cram school, Dangerous Okumura Rin, Demon Okumura Rin, Dork Okumura Rin, Exorcists, Feral Behavior, Hurt Okumura Rin, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Okumura Rin's Tail, Protective Okumura Rin, Protective Suguro "Bon" Ryuuji, bon is a good friend, mature content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:01:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27940442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zimny/pseuds/zimny
Summary: It had all started when the mission went to hell. Rin had gotten his tail damn near bitten in half  on the mission and then was prescribed medication for it. Seems normal? Yeah, Bon thought so too. When Rin starts to act out of the norm, Bon begins to investigate, hoping to discover what is causing his free spirited, positive friend to become an aggressive and hard to read...well demon.Bon sighed, closing is to-do list. He could already feel a headache coming on.“What a shit show,” he sighed.
Relationships: Okumura Rin/Suguro "Bon" Ryuuji
Comments: 30
Kudos: 138
Collections: Ao No Exorcist collection





	1. turn off your porcelain face

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first work in the fandom! For now, there probably won’t be a consistent upload schedule, but I do have plans for this work, don’t worry. This is kinda a vent write that I needed to do to take a break from my other series, Pretty Little Monster. I don’t know how far I’ll have Bon and Rin go...but ;)
> 
> Work titles and all chapter titles (unless otherwise said) are lyrics to “This is Home” by Cavetown. 
> 
> Please tell me how you feel about this! (Warning: this won’t follow cannon that closely, so keep an open mind) 
> 
> I’d just like to thank @tonguetiedraven (on ao3) for giving me the courage to write this! Go check out their work please, it’s amazing!

To be fair, Bon should’ve seen it coming. He should have been faster, he should’ve been paying more attention, he should've been more on his game. If he knew what the outcome would’ve been, he would’ve focused his attack more on the smaller demon. It’s not his fault he can’t see into the future, right? Right. He’ll keep telling himself that. 

The events leading up to _it_ were not anything out of the ordinary, hell they were almost _too_ normal. After Kyoto, people had begun to warm up to Rin again, unsurprising to Bon. The teen was just too playful and positive for his own good. His funny remarks in Okumura-Sensei’s class, his honest, but stupid questions during lunch were too hard not to laugh at. Even Suguro, who tried hard not to smile at Rin’s remarks, couldn’t help but to chuckle slightly at most of them. Not that he’d admit that to anybody. Unfortunately, he was _not_ laughing now. 

It happened in three quick minutes. The exwires were sent out to exterminate a mid-level demon out of the blue, not a big deal because they had the son of Satan backing them up. What they hadn’t expected was for there to be two upper mid-level demons. It was slightly concerning, but nothing to panic about. The panic set in after _it_ happened. Rin had Kurikara unsheathed, his flames dancing around him as he worked to destroy the more ferocious of the two, leaving the rest of the exwires to take down the other. Ryuuji had his prayer beads out, quickly reciting a mantra that would disorient the demon enough for Shima, Kamiki, and Shiemi to take down. He took his eyes off of Rin for _one second_ and his attention was brought back to him by a pained wail. A noise that _no human_ could ever make. Bon’s heart leapt to his throat, causing him to shudder at the noise _and_ the sight. 

The demon had bitten Rin’s tail damn near in half. 

“Shit,” Bon whispered eloquently. 

Everybody had paused, both human and demon alike, all eyes fixed on Rin, who had crumbled forward onto his knees, his tail laying limp beside him. Bon’s stomach lurched uncomfortably at the sight of the tail, the appendage bent unnaturally, a white shard of bone sticking out. _Bone_ sticking _out_ of the tail. 

Rin was silent, slowly rocking on his heels as his tail twitched back and forth, spreading the blood that oozed out of the black tail. Flames lightly crackled at the end of his tail, surprising Bon when suddenly, the flames _roared_ and Rin _snarled,_ launching himself at the demon five times his size with ease. The demon screeched in pain, clutching it’s weeping chest as Rin gauged it deeply with his sword. The exwires reluctantly turned their attention back to the lesser of the two, the demon spurred into action at the sight of the half demon’s flames. Bon had tried to keep his eyes off of Rin, focusing instead on the larger, but weaker demon as it was snapped at by Izumo’s familiars. 

“Looks like we got ‘em!” Shima drawled as he lazily spun his staff in palm. Bon nodded to himself, stuffing his prayer beads into his pocket and giving everybody a once over. It wasn’t a huge fight, but nobody was expecting to be sent on a mission at midnight either. 

Rin’s guttural snarls drew their attention back to him. Ryuuji distantly heard Shiemi ask if anybody else was injured, shaking his head softly as he spotted Rin. The lithe half demon was snarling in the bloody remains of the large demon, his figure completely coated in blood and ash. His flames were under control, _for now_ , but he was not. 

“Okumura?” He timidly walked towards the other, ignoring his classmates’ cry of protests. 

Rin didn’t respond to him, instead he crouched down lower, shoulder blades moving dangerously under his shirt as blood bubbled between his fangs with his snarls. 

“Okumura, we need to get your tail looked at.” Bon tried to soothe the other as much as possible, making sure to move slowly and project his movements as much as possible. Right now he didn’t see his goofy classmate, but instead saw a wounded animal, snapping in fear at the hand extended to help them. 

He saw a flash of something akin to recognition in the dark haired boy’s eyes, but it was quickly wiped away as Miwa shouted behind him. 

“Bon, get back! He-he’s feral again!” 

Rin leapt out of the remains of the demon, blood and ash following him like a second shadow. Rin’s usually warm and bright eyes were dark with mistrust, their feral gaze tinged red. 

He heard Shima and Izumo whisper at Koneko and he couldn’t help but turn around and glare at them himself. _What the hell was Koneko thinking? Rin’s already half out of his mind and the idiot starts shouting out warnings this far in? Wasn’t this Shiemi’s job anyway, to calm Rin down?_

Bon reached back into his pocket, hoping to get his phone and call Rin’s younger brother before the situation escalated too much, he reached his hand into his pant pocket, internally cursing the school for having such small pocket space as he fumbled and drug out his hair clip out with his phone. The clip dropped to the ground next to Ryuuji, uncaring as he cursed it’s existence. Rin’s nostrils flared as the small piece of metal hit the ground, his flames crackling more aggressively when he brought his phone out. Casting a quick glance to Shima, Bon hoped to express _“Call Mr. Fucking Okumura or Miss. Kirigakure Now”_ with one wide eyed glance. At the way Shima quickly made work of slowly backing away and getting his phone out, it seemed to have worked. 

Rin’s eyes hadn’t left the hair clip on the ground, his tail painfully twitching as he slowly extended his body to look at it better. 

He spoke slowly around thick fangs, “Bon?” He rasped. Bon tried to squash the feeling he got when Rin had called him by his nickname, instead trying to be grateful that they wouldn’t be wasting anymore time on an already late night mission. 

“You asshole, why’d you have to go after the demon alone?” He crouched down in front of Okumura, ignoring his flinch and moving his blood soaked arm to look over at the other’s tail. He hissed in sympathy, it looked worse than he thought. 

When he timidly reached out a hand to brush a lock of bloody fur, Rin snarled at him, fangs dangerously close as they snapped towards his face. Ryuuji put a hand out behind him to stop the other’s from coming, even as he heard their small sounds of protest. He had thought he heard, “Yukio,” somewhere in the protest and prayed that he’d get there soon. 

Rin took a deep breath, his gaze landing on Kurikara at his side, “can you,” he swallowed heavily, “sheath that? It’s easier with the uh...the instincts when it’s-“ 

“Yeah, yeah no problem.” Bon tenderly picked up his temple’s sacred relic, admiring the craftsman work that Yoshikuni had put into fixing it and sheathing it quickly. The effect was almost immediate, Rin’s flames disappeared and his ears and fangs had receded, only leaving a busted up looking boy behind. Rin slumped forward, a whine in the back of his throat as he looked at his tail. 

“Where’s Yukio?” He panted as he tried to stand up. 

Suguro quickly placed his hands on the shorter’s shoulders, preventing him from standing, “he’ll be here any moment, right guys?” He turned to the other exwires, all of which were eyeing them both with odd expressions. 

“Guys?” 

Shima seemed to get a hold of himself the quickest, “yeah, yeah any minute now. He’s uh, he’s,” his gaze landed on something behind Bon and Rin, “right there!” 

“Rin!” 

Bon turned around to see their teacher running towards them, his shoulders dropping in relief. 

“Rin what did you do?” Yukio’s stern voice caused even Bon’s shoulders to rise to his ears, his gaze not missing how Rin’s eyes darkened. 

“Damn lowly demon bit my tail,” he hissed, “I want to burn his body again, I wanna-“ 

“Rin!” Yukio cut him off, crouching down by him and unbuckling his briefcase. Bon felt uncontrollable, Yukio at his right, an injured Rin in front of him, and all of his classmates’ gazes boring into his back. 

_What was their deal anyway? Was it that Okumura had “lost control?” He kept it together better than Amaimon and still managed to come back to them after his most sensitive body part was damn near snapped in half. What was their deal?_

He was brought out of his thinking by Yukio’s frustrated voice, “Rin just let me...Rin stop!” Yukio had some thick bandages in his hands, his fingers outstretched to hold Rin’s tail and splint it up. Rin snapped his teeth at his brother’s fingers, his gaze turning into what it had looked like only a few minutes before. Not wanting to lose him again, Bon grabbed the clip off of the ground and put it in Rin’s warm hand, forcing him to close his fingers around it. 

“C’mon Okumura, it’s just a little break, can’t you let your brother take care of it? Or are you too baby?” He tried to jest to lighten the mood, but in all actuality, he was terrified. He knew that some demon’s never recovered from an injured tail, their balance, immune systems, and even mental states being affected for the rest of their lives. That’s why they were always taught to target it. 

Rin looked him in the eye, his bright eyes clearly showing the amount of pain he was in, before he smiled a large, goofy smile that showed his fangs, “I’m not too baby, that’s _you_ , you overgrown rooster!” Rin laughed as he brushed his sweaty and bloody locks out of his eyes, gathering his bangs and using the clip that Ryuuji had given him to pin up his hair. 

Yukio had made quick work, his deft fingers quickly unwrapping the medical tape before he paused and looked at the Aria. 

“Can you take off your belt?” He asked, _more like demanded,_ as he glanced at the other. 

Ryuuji spluttered, about to protest before Yukio spoke up in an impatient tone, “I don’t want him to bite me or you. You need to put it around his mouth, tight.” 

He opened his mouth, about to protest the gagging of his own friend, before Yukio prodded a less hurt portion of Rin’s tail. Rin immediately snapped towards his brother’s face with a guttural growl, his features shifting more demonic before receding slightly. 

“Sorry,” he whispered, “it’s probably best if you do it, Rooster.” 

Ryuuji didn’t even protest the nickname, instead unbuckling his belt quickly and slowly moving back behind the half demon’s head. He could see Rin’s gaze try to follow him all the way back, his hackles visibly rising at the thought of somebody in his blind spot while he was injured. 

“Rin, I’m going to put the belt in your mouth now, okay? Don’t bite my fingers off,” he warned as he slowly lowered the belt over the other’s face. Rin tensed at the leather being pressed against his mouth, a small rumble of protest building in his chest before it was squashed and he bit down on the belt. Ryuuji quickly scurried out of Rin’s blind spot, moving to where the other boy could see him. He heard Koneko gasp and couldn’t help but agree. Most of the time, Rin’s fangs were small, pointed tips that didn’t affect his speech much, didn’t attract too much unwanted attention, and did not look too inhuman. 

Those were not _those_ teeth. Bon felt a stab of concern as he wondered how much the boy had to keep his mouth shut, make sure not to show fangs, and always kept his lips down to cover them because they were _enormous._ With Rin’s mouth wide open around the belt, it was easy to see the thick, tear muscle from bone teeth that the thin boy possessed. His lips were pulled back, revealing the thick gums that harbored the four animal-like canines in his mouth and the other sharper than normal teeth. 

Mr. Okumura brought them out of their daze, “alright you guys can all head home. Thank you for watching after him and I’ll see you in class tomorrow.” 

“I’ll stay with you as you wrap his tail, Mr. Okumua,” Bon said stiffly, not moving from his position in front of Rin.

His cool voice irritated Ryuuji for some reason, but he brushed that aside. Rin came first. Bon distantly remembered his demon anatomy class, more specifically the tail unit. He couldn’t help but gag at the sight of Rin’s tail. This was not gonna be fun for him.  
  
“Nii-san, I’m going to wrap your tail now, okay? Don’t bite me or Suguro.” Yukio slowly picked up Rin’s tail, ignoring the tears that started to immediately stream down his face and the high pitched whines that slipped past the belt. Despite Rin’s monstrous jaws being on full display, he kept as calm as possible while Yukio made his way up his tail. 

The whole process was done with nobody talking, nobody even _breathing._ Everybody had ignored Okumura-San’s order and instead stayed back, waiting. A part of Ryuuji was irked that they had stayed to see Rin in such a vulnerable state, but the other part of him was glad they had warmed back up to him after the slip up. He knew that he was not one to judge, he had been cruel and hurt Rin, but the desperation that he had seen in Rin’s eyes as he forced his way through the protective barrier, the way he protected Bon first when they faced up against the Impure King. It was more than enough to make up for everything.  
  
Though he was still hurt that Rin hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him his secret. 

  
Ryuuji was pulled from his thinking by a clawed hand slapping around his wrist, pulling his whole body weight forward easily.  
  
“Rin-” 

  
He put a hand up to silence the younger brother and insead brushed some stray hair out of Rin’s eyes.  
  
“It’s fine, just wrap the,” he glanced at the tail, wincing when he saw it was the exposed bone, “bone and I’ll hold him down. He won’t hurt me.”

  
Rin was staring at him with wide eyes as Suguro placed his hands on his shoulders, he knew he was no match for the demon’s strength, but he intended to ground the injured demon.  
  
Rin nodded at his brother once and Bon held his breath as he saw the exorcist’s well trained hands roll the thick medical tape over the tail. The reaction was instantaneous. Rin howled through the belt, teeth gnashing at the air between the Aria-in-training’s face. He tried to keep the firmest hold on the half-demon’s shoulders, but the other was stronger. Ryuuji tried to close his eyes and think of his and Rin’s competitions, their jokes, and even their arguments. Everything was better than what was happening right now. Rin howled once more, drool trickling out of the corner of his mouth as he hissed and spat in pain. What everybody had failed to notice were the sharp teeth that were well on their way to cut through the thick belt. Yukio quickly pulled out a pair of scissors, attempting to cut off the tape, but not managing it when Rin kicked his brother in the stomach, causing him to fall back with a sharp _oof._

Bon immediately scrambled back, his palms exposed in a palcating manner.  
  
 _Shit how did he even manage to kick Okumura-Sensei?_ He berated himself, _it was my job to hold him down, hell I insisted._

“Sururo back up, _now_ ,” the exorcist’s tone held no more for argument as he shoved the Aria behind him and trained a gun on his brother. 

The exwires all backed up at the sight of the feral demon, his eyes glinting with rage as he slowly stood up.  
  
“Sensei, you can’t shoot him!” Ryuuji started forward, only to be held back by Shima and Koneko.  
  
“Guys?” He whispered in disbelief.  
  
“I promised my dad I would protect you, Bon,” Shima looked at him seriously. 

Koneko also spoke up, “Bon, Rin was going to _hurt_ you or maybe even kill you! He’s just an injured demon right now, you can’t-”  
  
“I can’t believe you two!” Bon interrupted, “and the rest of you!” He glared at Tanaka, Shiemi, and Izumo. “He is our friend, he pretty much single handedly took down The Impure King, I was there! You can’t take advantage of him when he’s useful and cast him aside when he’s injured. His most raw nerve is exposed right now and he’s confused and in pain. Okumura would never hurt us.”  
  
He breathed heavily as he finished his speech, the other’s staring at him in shock. Even Yukio had taken his gaze off of his brother to stare at Bon. 

He knew what they thought, what they saw. Ryuuji was never kind to the dark haired boy, constantly making fun of him, putting him down, and untrusting of him. While in all actuality, he envied the other. Rin had a magnetic aura to him that made people like him, he was a friendly guy. Why couldn’t the others _see it_ ?  
  
“Bon?”  
  


_Shit, of course that dumbass had to hear the whole thing._

He turned slowly, an embarrassed blush on his face as he took in the other boy’s state. The other boy stood awkwardly, swaying heavily. In his hand was a bitten through and torn belt and behind him his tail lay limp and unmoving, weighed down by the bandages.  
  
“Nii-San?” Okumura-San breathed, hollistering his gun and rushing up to see his brother’s state. 

“I’m fine, little bro, no need to worry about me,” Rin wobbled slightly as he gave them all a big, fake smile. “I’m sorry I scared you all,” he bowed apologetically, ignoring everyone’s quiet protests. “No, I’m _so_ sorry. I didn’t mean to lose control like that, I didn’t mean to I-” He looked down quickly, “thank you for what you said to me, Ryuuji, but you’re wrong. I can hurt you, not that I’d want to, but lately it’s been...harder.”  
  
Ryuuji and the others stared at him in shock, not having noticed anything different.

“Don’t worry Rin, we’ll contact Sir Pheles tomorrow and get you on some meds, for your tail and your behavior.”  
  
Just as he was about to protest, not noticing anything different when he was stopped by Shima’s hand on his arm, a clear warning.  
  
Okumura-San spoke up, “alright everybody, back to the dorms with you all! I’ll contact your teachers tomorrow and see if I can have you pardoned by any tests. Good job on exterminating the demon, good night.”  
  
Bon watched as Yukio placed Rin’s arm over his shoulder, supporting his brother while the both of them made their way back to their abandoned dorm rooms.  
  
“Bon, c’mon!” Shima tugged on him, leading him back to their dormitory. 

They walked back in silence, only breaking their silence to say goodnight to the girls as they split off to go home. That left him with Shima and Koneko, Tanaka randomly splitting off while they weren’t watching.  
  
The pink haired boy broke the uncomfortable tension, as usual, “Bon what was that back there?” He tentatively asked.  
  
Bon shrugged, “what do you mean?” 

_I’m playing dumb and I know it…_

“You know what I mean!” His pink haired friend lightly punched him on the arm, “that whole love confession speech for Okumura. I thought you hated him?”  
  
Bon blushed, whirling on the other boy, “love confession?! That was not a love confession! I’m just sick of…” He trailed off, muttering.  
  
“Sick of what?” Neko pushed, finally speaking up.  
  
Bon sighed, “I’m sick of everybody treating Okumura like he’s some wild animal, I know we don’t always get along, but he’s not some monster. He lied, which pisses me off, but it’s not his fault, ya know?”  
  
He tucked his hands into his pockets, embarrassed. Distantly he made a mental note to get a new belt.  
  
“Well...yeah we’re all kinda warming up to him, but back there? That was all demon, all instinct. Bon, he’s not gonna recognize you as his friend when he’s like that.” He chuckled, “hell, he’ll probably only remember you yelling at him, or threatening him, or-”  
  
“Okay, okay enough!” He shouted, pulling out their keycard to their dorm. “Maybe I should be more careful…”  
  
Shima and Koneko both nodded, satisfied as they made their way up to their dorm room.  
  
 _Or not_. 

  
=====

Ryuuji laid in his bed after his shower, his wet hair soaking the pillow. He glanced at the clock. _2:58 a.m...fuck._

He distantly wondered if Rin was okay. He had seen Rin go feral before. He saw Rin when he fought Amaimon, both times, his face a snarl while foam bubbled out of his mouth, rabid. He remembered the fear that nestled itself at the base of his spine and the confusion that turned himself on his head. His classmate, who had been the only person that hadn’t laughed at his goal, even when his own _father_ had, was the son of Satan. The demon of demons. The God of Gehenna and all things evil. Rin has to be the farthest thing from evil. Yes, sometimes Bon spots him baring fangs, scenting the air, and even casually scent marking, _not that that dumbass knows what he’s doing,_ but he’s not evil. Maybe a little demonic, but not evil. If only his father could hear him now...

Shima and Miwa bustled around the room, getting their bags ready for school tomorrow. Ryuuji sighed, images of Rin’s pinprick pupils and shattered tail plaguing his mind. 

“You good, Bon?” Shima patted his hair affectionately, to which he responded by playfully swatting the other’s leg. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking of Okumura, you know?” 

_Why did I have to tell the truth?_ He internally groaned. 

Shima and Miwa exchanged glances, turning the lights off. “Bon…” Neko started, “is there something going on between you and Rin? Something...more than friends?” 

He blushed, sitting up, “what? No!” He desperately willed his cheeks to cool down and rubbed his head tiredly. 

“I’m just concerned for the guy, he literally had _bone_ sticking out of his tail. _Bone_ ,” he shuddered, turning over on his side. “I don’t _like_ Okumura like that,” he muttered, offended. It’s not that he didn’t like men, hell he had experimented a few times, but he didn’t like _Rin._ Rin was well… _Rin. He probably doesn’t even like guys,_ Bon thought, grimly. 

“-on?” 

_Shit they were talking to me and I was over here daydreaming about Okumura like some girl. Damnit._

“I don’t like Okumura,” he stated again, pulling his blue blanket closer to himself. _Not as blue as Rin’s pretty- nope!_

“Whatever you say, man.” 

Any other night he would’ve hopped out of bed and beaten Renzou until he cried, but he was _so tired,_ exhausted, and they had school tomorrow. Bon grumbled in response to Shima before falling into a dream filled sleep. Dreaming of blue eyes, sharp fangs, a fuzzy tail, and a mop of midnight blue hair. 

  
  



	2. i can't really think right now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bon stares at his to-do list, frowning
> 
> "Why is Rin grumpy?" It read, the question mark underlined multiple times. Rin let out growl from the back of the room where he slept. Shima jumped at the noise, blushing when Ryuuji stared at him. 
> 
> "Uh, it just kinda caught me off guard, ya know?" 
> 
> Bon chuckled slightly, adding a bullet point on his to-do list. 
> 
> "Growling?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Please enjoy this chapter and have a wonderful day! Comments fuel me :0

Yukio glanced over at his slumbering brother, sighing. There was only ten minutes before their cram class started.

 _He was supposed to be up by now_ , Yukio mulled. _He didn't wake up the first time, or the second...or the third._

Yukio considered his options, wake his brother and hope the pills Mephisto gave him worked, or leave him here so he can fail the exorcist exam and get executed by the Vatican.

 _Hmm_ , Yukio narrowed his eyes.

Taking his chances, Yukio took one look at his brother and Kuro's sleeping forms, sighing once again.

_Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't-_

Yukio probed the hurt tail, the bandages having soaked through during the school day. The reaction was instantaneous. Rin yowled, lurching up with deadly fangs and spitting like a cat.

Kuro had leapt awake, tail puffing and small back arching as he took in the situation. Seeing the problem immediately, he started meowing at the older Okumura, the half-demon ignoring him and swatting the small demon away like a fly.

"Rin!" Yukio leapt back, his hand immediately going to his gun. His brain screamed, ' _feral demon, hurt, dangerous'_ while his heart shouted, ' _Rin, brother, protect!'_

Yukio's only advantage was Rin's injured tail, his body swaying and lurching uncoordinated like. His balance would probably be affected for a while.

"Rin!" Yukio yelled again as his brother stumbled towards him, eyes hazy. It was like he didn't even see him.

Cursing himself, the younger Okumura pulled out his holy water flask, hands shaking. He held out the flask in front of Rin threateningly.

"Don't make me do this-" he pleaded to deaf ears.

Rin arched his back as he growled, flamed horns starting to dance around his hair. Yukio flinched, _the Koma sword isn't even drawn,_ he thought, _how are his flames this strong?_

When the flames flared up even stronger, Yukio tossed a small amount of holy water onto the demon's head, narrowly missing Kuro who hissed at him from his spot at Rin's feet. The water hit it's mark. Rin howled, holding his head in pain as smoke sizzled off of his skin.

Yukio flinched, hoping that the water snapped his brother out of whatever the hell had happened to him. _Weren't these pills supposed to help? That damn demon, Mephisto._

Rin groaned, sitting up from where he crumbled to the floor in pain.

"Yukio, what happened?" He whined.

The younger twin sighed in relief.

=====

Bon bit nervously at his thumb while glancing at the clock every few seconds.

_The Okumuras were both late..._

Ryuuji sat in his normal spot with Shima and Koneko at his side, as usual. Usually, he'd be excited to be in Demon Pharmaceutics, but today he was just exhausted. The school day had gone by normally, there was a test in his history class that he was excluded from due to Okumura-San's influence on the staff. Ryuuji had been distracted all day though, his mind on the older twin. His hands were glued to his phone during classes, fingers hovering over the "Okumura Rin" contact.

_Would it be weird if I texted him? Am I worrying too much? He's probably still sleeping it off, he definitely-_

Shima suddenly leant in close to his face, whispering overly loud and obnoxious, "Bon, your boyfriend is here!"

Ryuuji was too focused on taking in Rin's state to even acknowledge Shima's teasing, his eyes widening at the sight of the other.

"Holy Hell," Shima breathed beside him and Bon couldn't help but share the sentiment. Rin looked _awful_.

Okumura-Sensei started walking to the front of the classroom, not attracting as much attention as his older brother. The half-demon had awful, dark circles under his eyes that highlighted the feverish blue...and red eyes? _Why were his eyes red, didn't that only happen whenever Kurikara was drawn?_ The sword lay across his back, as usual, clinking against chairs and tables as the older brother stumbled past his usual seat and towards the back of the classroom. Everyone stared. Bon opened his mouth, "hey, Okumura-" and quickly shut it. Rin shut him down with _one look._ His bloodshot eyes narrowed as he bared his teeth in a rare act of demon-hood at the taller. Rin slowly stumbled towards the very, very back of the room, his heavily bandaged tail bloodsoaked. It had almost looked like theyhadn't even considered changing the bandages since last night. Rin slumped into the chair, yawning in an impressive show of his teeth before he curled in on himself and slept. 

"I apologize for being late," Okumura-San stacked his paper's on his desk. "We were...held up..." Nobody missed the look that Yukio shot his brother.

The tension in the room was _visible_.

"Alright class, get out your last assignment and let's review-"

Bon did something he hadn't done in years, tuned the teacher out. Instead of paying attention to class he stared at the slumbering demon as his classmates went over the assignment without him.

_Just was is up with him?_

=====

Rin's breath hitched as another bolt of pain ran from the end of his tail up to his neck.

_Fuck it hurt._

His head was swimming with the effects of the meds that Mephisto had given him before bed last night, adding to the list of things that hurt like hell right now. Rin dozed off into a restless sleep as yesterday's events played through his head.

~

_"Nii-San...I think that we need to get you to that doctor that Sir Pheles was recommending you to go to."_

_Rin lolled his head on his brother's shoulder, fixing him with a glare, "no I don't trust that dumbass clown," he hissed, tail twitching as much as it could in the confines of the bandages._

_"I don't trust him either, but you're starting to get out of control...remember this morning?"_

_Rin grumbled at Yukio, sticking his tongue out. "It's not my fault that you yelled in my ear so loud! My hearing is sensitive and you scared the hell out of me!"_

_The younger twin huffed under Rin's weight, sighing, "that does not give you the opportunity to nearly put me through the wall with your tail! If the Vatican finds out about this-"_

_Rin groaned, rolled his eyes and grunting as another wave of pain came through him. His fangs and ears temporarily elongated before they returned to normal. He didn't know how much more of this he could take, but with his superior night vision, he could tell they were getting close to their dorm._

_"How did you find me anyway? I thought you were out on a mission?"_

_Yukio replied, "_ _Renzou_ _called me, he seemed pretty frantic. He said you were out of control again and I got worried that you had really lost it like with Amaimon."_

 _Rin sighed, a tinge of pain running through him. He never meant to scare his friends, in fact that was the_ opposite _of what he wanted to do._

_Rin tentatively admitted, "it...has been getting worse. I don't know what it is! My flames are doing fine! They're not perfect or anything, but..."_

_These damn instincts..._

_"Aha! Dearest, little brother!" A voice startled Rin and Yukio, the twins whipping their heads to look behind them. The Headmaster, Mephisto, stood under a lone streetlamp, his high-end, tailored outfit not matching their surroundings of a dingy path that lead to their dorm._

_"What do you want, Mephisto?" Rin growled lowly, his brother holding him back._

_"I'm just here to check up on you, as a good big brother does, I saw your little..." He smiled coyly, "incident back there..."_

_Yukio's hold on his brother tightened, his stance becoming more defensive, "can you help him?"_

_Rin's tail attempted the bristle, but the bandages surrounding it prevented it from doing so. Mephisto conjured up a plain, white bottle, "here!" He tossed the bottle to Rin, the younger half-demon catching it with ease._

_"What are-"_

_Mephisto interrupted Rin, "those should help you! One of our very own True Cross demon specialists created those, such a brilliant mind!" He grinned toothily._

_Rin shook the bottle, hearing many small objects move around in there, "pills?" Mephisto grinned as Rin opened the pill bottle and sniffed, ears drooping in disgust. "This smells terrible!"_

_Yukio curiously took it from him, sniffing it tentatively, "I don't smell anything?"_

_"Demon senses!" Mephisto cooed, "it seems you have surpassed human sense of smell, congratulations!"_

_Yukio ignored Mephisto, instead asking, "what's in these? These don't look like anything I've ever seen...and I'm a Doctor."_

_Mephisto chuckled, twirling his umbrella, "don't worry, it's full proof. I haven't tested it...but," he grinned again. "It'll help with your problem. I bet right now you're just struggling with not putting your brother six feet under right now..."_

_Yukio looked at Rin, startled, and Rin flinched. His quivering lips were drawn over thick fangs as the half-demon struggled to restrain himself from injuring his younger brother._

_Yukio stepped back from Rin quickly, the former male crumpling in on himself due to his injured state. "Rin, what?"_

_Rin's breath hitched and he scampered forward towards Yukio, "It's just my other half, it doesn't like you so close to my tail, but it's fine I-"_

_"Alright, alright," Yukio hollistered his gun, "come here." Yukio threw Rin's arm over his shoulder, paying close attention to the half-demon's face._

_"Take two a day and don't skip days, the doctor was very strict about that." As the older demon made his way to leave Rin shouted after him._

_"Who is this doctor? Why should we trust you or him?"_

_Mephisto smirked, "because if you don't, then you're going to have a bigger problem on your hands than trust."_

_He disappeared into the shadows._

_Rin harrumphed, "well, down the hatchet I guess." He shakily pulled out two white pills, throwing them in his mouth and dry swallowing._

_"Eck, tastes like shit!"_

_Yukio stared at him, unamused before sighing, "let's get back. I don't want a repeat of yesterday's incident because you slept in."_

_Rin stuck his tongue out at him, his body still shaking with slight shivers. Whether it was from his broken tail or the medication, he didn't know._

=====

"-guro! Suguro-Kun!"

Bon flinched, staring at Okumura-Sensei as his name was called from the front of the room.

"My apologizes, Sensei," he dipped his head. "What do you need?"

Their teacher paced the front of the room, "we're going on a mission tomorrow, it's a little last minute, but it's good practice. It's deep in the forests and involves a demon that we don't have much information on. If you'd been paying attention earlier, I wouldn't have to repeat this."

Shima snickered next to him.

"I'm sorry-"

Okumura-San interrupted him, "no worries. I was just wondering who, out of the boys, would you want to room with for the mission?"

Suguro frowned, turning to his friends. "Well, I think I'd just go with Renzuo-Kun and Konekomaru-Kun."

Their teacher sighed while pushing up his glasses. "They've already picked each other and Takara picked them. It's two people per shack, so I'm already making an exception for them."

Bon looked at the two other boys, Takara, who stared with his same infuriating expression and Rin, who laid passed out with a snarl on his face.

Bon gulped, "I-I guess Okumura-Kun is my only choice then." He laughed nervously at Yukio's stare.

The younger Okumura's gaze suddenly softened, "you know I can room with him. Teachers aren't typically allowed to room with their students, but I'm sure I can pull some strings."

Bon forced a small smile, "no, I'm good. Okumura and I will have a great time, eh?"

Shima made kissy faces at him while Koneko blushed.

_God what have I got myself into?_

"Great! I want everybody here by six a.m. sharp. Bring first aid, warm clothes, and your sharpest attitude!"

Shiemi tentatively raised her hand and spoke when their teacher called on her, "O-Okumura- Sensei? Shouldn't R-Rin be up for this?"

Everybody's gaze landed on said half-demon, his form not moving even as all the students stared at him.

Okumura-Sensei slowly said, "I'll let him know back at the dorm, I don't-"

"What's up kids!"

Shura slammed the door open, gliding into the room with her usual grace. The sight of her nonchalant face and care-free attitude made Bon's eye twitch.

She ignored the Doctor's protest, dancing around each desk, "where's my favorite half-demon?" She cooed, "I may have been on a mission for a few days, but that doesn't mean you get to wimp out on your training now!"

"Shura!" Yukio barked, startling all the students. The exorcist smiled coyly at him, her hand hovering over Rin's somehow still slumbering form. She seemed to snap out of her attitude when she spotted the bloody bandages, "what happened to him?"

She didn't get an answer as a low growl seeped throughout the room, causing everybody's hair to stand on end.

"Okumura?" Bon whispered.

The half-demon's eye was slit open, it's unholy hazy resting on Shura as she stood near his blind spot.

Shura laughed at him, though whether it was nervous laughter or not, Bon couldn't tell.

"You goin' all demon on me?" She cooed, her hand coming down to slap his back. Yukio immediately marched towards the back of the room, where Rin had suddenly shot up, snarling at Shura.

"Did you come here to ruin everything?" He hissed, grabbing her arm. Shura stared at him with clever eyes, her tone becoming more serious.

Rin snarled at them.

"No, chicken, I'm here to see what's wrong with your brother."

The Doctor gasped, looking around the room, "so you've noticed too?"

Shura nodded, "yeah it was pretty straight forward after he almost killed me at our last training session," she dryly replied.

The exwires all stared at each other uncomfortably. Well, all except Bon.

"Okumura!" Bon hissed, creeping towards the back of the room. "What the hell is going on with you?"

Yukio and Shura quietly...discussed, argued? Bon didn't know. However, it was enough to keep them distracted as he crept towards the still panting demon.

"Okumura?"

The shorter boy glared up at him and to Bon's utmost confusion, he didn't have to tilt his head as far up as he used to.

_Is Rin getting...taller?_

Bon shook his head, _how would he get taller in a day? What kind of demonic growth spurt-_

Rin pounced on him, sending him sprawling into the desks and crashing onto the floor. Bon groaned as pain erupted from the back of his head.

"Shit!" He heard somebody yelp.

 _Shima,_ his brain whispered.

Chaos erupted around the room, people yelled both Bon and Rin's name, weapons were scattered, and arguing took place. All while Rin had him pinned against the floor. Bon struggled, wincing when it was like going up a wall of iron, Rin's form not letting him move an inch.

Bon's eyes erupted with white light when he opened them, _I didn't know I closed them,_ and he groaned.

"Don't-" he gasped shoving his hand out as far as he could. "Don't hurt Rin!" He yelled over the commotion. "I got this."

Gulping as he took in sight of the feral face above him, Bon pulled every ounce of knowledge from his past teachings on what to do when a high-class demon was attacking you.

His first instinct was to chant a mantra, but he shook that off quickly. Rin would just break through the protective barrier like he did in Kyoto. His second thought was holy water or blessed steel, but that would also hurt him. His third thought was his dumbest. 

~

_"If you've ever run out of options when attacking a high class demon, bare your neck. This will only work with higher level demons because they are the only ones that actually hold power and claim over demons and humans. This is a last resort! It is not full proof. If you do this there's a fifty, fifty chance it'll think you're offering it dinner and tear your throat out."_

_All the students stared at him nervously._

_Sensei grinned, "now who's ready for the demonic warding quiz?"_

~

Bon gasped as Rin's hold on his wrist increased, his bones creaking under the stress.

"Rin!" He hissed, jostling the other.

The demon's head whipped down to look at him at the same time Bon tilted his head back, exposing his neck.

_Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't-_

"Ryuuji!" He heard Koneko scream. More commotion induced at the small boy's panicked screams.

Rin's chest pressed flush against the Aria's as his rumbled growls went through the both of them. Ryuuji strained to see his expression from his head's position of tilted all the way back.

Rin's body completely covered the Aria's, his bandaged and bloody tail thumping against the ground as he pushed his face into the Aria's neck. Rin's breath was hot and damp against his skin, almost too hot. Ryuuji thought of blue flames licking his neck and shuddered.

"Bon..." Rin slurred around his large teeth.

"Nii-San!" He heard Yukio snap, immediately getting shushed by Shura.

"Ya dumbass, look! Ryuuji submitted, Rin will calm down now."

If Bon could speak, he'd grumble at the aspect of "submitting," but he kept quiet when he realized that was basically what he did.

Rin let out a soft, low growl. More like a...purr? Bon blushed as he realized Rin was purring against his neck, his mouth open and panting against him. Ryuuji shivered at four sharp points rested on his neck, not breaking flesh, but more sitting there as a warning.

"Oi, dumbass!"

The female exorcist's shoes came into Bon's vision and he distantly heard a _smack_ as he assumed she had wacked the dark haired boy on the back of his head.

"Shura, what the hell?" Rin whined, rubbing his head. He glanced around the room, confused before he glanced down at Bon, the Aria's face a blushing mess.

"Suguro!" He yelped, jumping back and stumbling as his tail failed to maintain his balance. Ryuuji smiled sheepishly at him while Shima and Koneko helped him up from the floor.

Rin's face was a bright red as he stuttered, hiding behind Shura.

"I'll say that was exciting enough for one class, but before we go, does anybody want to tell me what Suguro-Kun did to deter Rin?"

Shura cooed at Rin, brushing his long bangs out of his eyes as the teen ducked his head in utter embarrassment.

Izumo raised her hand, speaking without even being called on, "Suguro-Kun offered his neck in a sign of submission, meaning that Rin's demonic instincts saw him standing down an accepting loss while also offering himself up in apology. It's also a typical interaction between mates-"

"Alright Kamiki-Sama!" Bon barked, elbowing Shima as he collapsed in laughter.

Okumura-Sensei awkwardly looked between the two blushing boys , clearing his throat. "Alright. I expect you here bright and early on Saturday. Class dismissed."

Rin popped out from behind Miss Kirigakure, "what about Saturday?"

The whole class groaned.

=====

The exwires sat around the table in the library, everybody reading up on common forest demons and mission etiquette.

Bon sat next to Rin, glancing at the tired teen as he grumbled at his work.

"You need help?" Bon questioned after Rin growled at the question, _again._

Rin glanced up at him, his floppy bangs being held up by Ryuuji's hair clip. The Aria failed to prevent his stomach from twisting at the endearing sight. The half-demon grinned, showing thick fangs that had been threatening him earlier.

"You would do that? You're the best, Suguro!" Rin immediately plastered himself to Bon's side, causing the Aria to blush and clear his throat.

The other exwires had ignored them, all on the other side of the long table and reading out of an old book.

"Yeah, okay dumbass, what are you struggling with?" Bon leant down, glancing at the multiple choice question that Rin was struggling with.

"I-I just don't know!" Rin whined, throwing his arms up in frustration, "it's asking for the _best_ choice, but they all sound like the best choice to me!"

Bon chuckled slightly, not catching the way that the half-demon's eyes shone with hurt.

Rin pushed away from him, crumbling up his papers in anger and holding them close to his chest. "I know I'm stupid, but you don't have to laugh at me!"

Bon spluttered, apologizing, "I'm not laughing at you, I'm just thinking about how I always thought the same thing!"   
  
Rin still looked hesitant, but he slowly un crumpled his work sheet. "R-really? But I thought you were super smart?"

Bon blushed. "I don't consider myself that smart...I'm just good at memorization. The trick to those multiple choice questions is to think about what answer the teacher would want you to pick. Think about what your class has been focusing on and what you guys have been going over."

Rin stared at him, eyes bright with admiration, "I think you're smart, Suguro." The half-demon stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he filled in the bubble.

 _Man, he's pretty adorable,_ Bon mused, _wait what?_

"So, who am I rooming with this weekend?" Rin glanced at him.

Bon really needed to get this blushing under control. "U-uhm me? I figured you know, uh-"

Rin smiled, bright and toothily, "awesome!" Suddenly, his mood dimmed, causing Bon to frown.

"I'm...sorry for earlier..." Bon watched as Rin's bandaged tail drooped. "I didn't want to hurt, or scare you...but I did."

Bon opened his mouth immediately to protest, but Rin held a hand up, silencing him. "No, it's not okay. It was wrong. And...bad." The last part was whispered, clenching Ryuuji's heart.

"Hey, lovebirds! We're outta here!" Shima yelled from across the long library tail.

The cockscomb haired boy jumped as a deep and sudden growl startled him.

_Rin?_

He whipped his head around to Rin, who indeed did growl. The boy's face was ducked with embarrassment and he hurried to leave.

"I-I need to leave, to train with Shura," Rin said as he quickly shoved his papers into his back back.

Bon looked at his phone, frowning. "Training at 8 p.m?" Rin nodded as he hefted the Koma sword over his shoulder as well.

"Yeah, Shura is gonna start doing longer sessions, since she's been gone on mission."

"But hasn’t she only been gone three or four days?"

Rin tilted his head, confused. "Yeah?"

Bon stood up from the table, waving his hands around. "That was a small break then! She shouldn't have you train extra if all you got was a couple measly days off and you even had to go on a mission for one!"

The blue haired half-demon stared at him, his gaze unreadable, before a shit eating grin spread across his face. "You worried about me, Bon-Bon?"

Ryuuji spluttered, hitting the other boy's shoulder playfully. "Shut up, you monkey!"

Rin stumbled under the small hit, hitting his back into one of the library tables and wincing.

Bon immediately apologize, "shit I'm sorry! I forgot about your tail-"

Rin let out a pain filled chuckle, glancing down at his tail, "that's alright. I guess I didn't know how much that dumb thing helped with my balance."

Bon observed the appendage, eyes widening when he saw the blood leaking through the bandages and on to the floor.

"Okumura there's no way you're training tonight. Look at your tail! You can't spar with that."

Rin huffed, tucking his tail behind his leg. "I am to! It's fine, I just need to get going so Shura-"  
  
"Let me come with you," Bon interrupted. _Shit my mouth is moving before my brain is thinking._

"Hah?" The half-demon tilted his head again, a motion that Bon did _not_ find cute. Nope, not at all.

"Let me come with you, I'll tell Miss Kirigakurethat you're not fit to train right now and to give you a break. We have a mission tomorrow anyway."

Rin quickly pulled out his phone, groaning, "oh yeah today is Friday!"

Bon shook his head, "how do you even get around?"

The half-demon grinned toothily at him. "Oh I manage," he purred seductively as he strolled to the library exit.

The aria felt his face go hot as he struggled to heft his backpack over his shoulder. "W-wait for me, dumbass!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you like it? Any suggestions? Anybody want to beta some work? 
> 
> Have a great day, as always :)


	3. there's too many colors, enough to drive us all insane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuuji glanced at his To-Do list, frowning. 
> 
> "Get Rin out of training with Shura," it read. 
> 
> Bon groaned, why was he helping the damn monkey now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so late...there's also probably going to be mistakes. Sorry!

Ryuuji curled his arms around himself as the cold started to seep through his jacket. _Why didn't I just go home? Why did I offer to help Rin not train. Shouldn't I be glad he's trying to control himself more?_

The said half-demon skipped along side of him, apparently immune and/or oblivious to the bone chilling cold.

"So..." Ryuuji grunted, "what do they have you on for your tail?"

Rin wobbled slightly before steadying himself on Suguro's arm. "Mephisto caught Yukio and I on our way back and gave me some pills."

Bon nodded, shivering slightly as a gust of wind caught him off guard.

"Pills? I thought your metabolism burned through all the medications?"

Rin nodded, "yeah _human_ meds. These are some meds fit for well...demons. Some super smart doctor made them or whatever."

Bon unconsciously burrowed himself into the halfling's side, the warmth instantly seeping through his coat. "I've never heard of that," he mused. "What's in them?"

Rin squinted at him, "I dunno. I don't really wanna talk about it anymore."

 _Huh, weird._ Bon cocked an eyebrow at him before deciding to drop it. _I don't need to start more fights with him, we've just started to become closer again._

"So do you and Shura do some pretty intense training?" The aria decided to change the subject.

Rin broke out into a small grin, puffing out his chest. "Yup! I'm getting pretty good at controlling my flames now!"

Bon smiled at the the half-demon's enthusiasm. _He's really worked hard for those flames._ The taller boy thought about Rin's form, surrounded with beautiful blue flames as they whipped around him. He was terrified of dying to the miasma that the Impure King had pumped into the air. The aria vividly remembered the pores clogging his throat, the fuzziness of his vision, the terrifying choking feeling. When he thought all was lost, Rin had saved the day. The halfling had unsheathed the Koma sword and stood protectively in front of Bon. Even when he was covered in miasma and Gehenna flame, Bon never felt safer.

"You have been getting a lot better," is all Bon had blurted out.

Rin smiled softly, "yeah thanks. Yukio doesn't think so...he still thinks I'm an uncontrollable beast. So does the Vatican." He bitterly added.

Protective rage filled Bon. "They're idiots!" He hissed, stomping on the sidewalk back to Rin's dorm.

Rin giggled at his response and Bon did _not_ find it cute at all. Nope.

"You don't gotta say that, Bon. They're kinda right. I mean I just attacked you today!" Rin snarled at himself, his features briefly becoming sharper.

"Okumura I already told you-"

"No!"

Rin yowled, digging his now clawed fingers into his skull.

"No, no, _no_!" He snarled, crouched down.

Bon dropped to his knees, trying to prevent the dark haired boy from clawing his head too much. "Rin, listen," he tried to pry away Rin's hands, but it was like trying to bend iron. "Okumura, stop!" He gasped out as Rin shook him off like a fly.

"Dumbass!"

A gust of wind hit both of them in the side, sending them sprawling away.

"Rin!" Bon screamed, scurrying up on his knees.

 _Where had that come from? Are_ _we_ _under attack?_

The click on Shura's heels on the pavement drew him out of his panicked state. _Damnit, what the hell happened and why does it keep happening!_

Rin's form was further away from him and Bon briefly remembered that he took the brunt of the attack from Shura's sword. _Protecting me even as he looses himself..._

"Rin." Shura called out, sheathing her sword. "Rin..." she cooed.

Bon watched as the half-demon twitched from his crumpled position, rising slowly. His intense eyes locked on Shura before flicking between Ryuuji and the exorcist frantically.

"Suguro are you okay?" Shura moved to stand in front of him, blocking his view of Rin.

"Yeah?" Bon peeked around Shura's fuzzy, fur coat. "What the hell is happening?"

Shura eyed Rin curiously, "I don't know. But I want to get down to it."

Rin was scenting the air around him like a cat would. The fluorescent lights glinted off of his glistening fangs as they hung out of his parted mouth. The demon's head bobbed up and down as he _heavily_ scented the air, concerning Bon.

"Why is he scenting?" He asked the exorcist.

Shura shrugged, her face the most serious he's ever seen it. "It's a demonic behavior, but Rin _never_ does it. I didn't even know he knew how to."

Bon stood up beside her, both of them eying the demon as he scanned their surroundings intensely.

"Do you think it's because his tail got injured?" Bon suggested, pointing at the bandaged appendage. The dark red and nearly black bandages scraped against the asphalt as it lashed back and forth.

Shura made an appreciative noise in the back of her throat. "It could be, but it wouldn't explain the swings in his behavior recently. I know he struggles with the impulses of his flames, but it wasn't ever this bad. I'm more worried about the pills that Rin is taking."

Bon started to slowly walk forward, "yeah, I've never heard of medicine for demons, only weapons."

Rin snapped around to eye Bon, his red pupils expanding and contracting rapidly.

"Rin, it's me, _Bon_ ," Suguro smiled at the half-demon, waking even closer when the boy doesn't attack.

Rin cocked his head, creeping forward on all fours.

"That's it," he cooed, " stretching his hand out to the half-demon's strong nose. He blushed as Rin eyed him intensely before bumping against his hand like a cat.

 _I can get why Koneko loves them so much,_ he mused as Rin rubbed his cheek on the inside of Bon's wrist, scenting him.

Shura appeared beside him, causing him to blush even harder. _Hopefully Rin doesn't remember this._

To his surprise, Shura didn't make fun of him. Instead she praised him. "You're really good with him, ya know? Even better than me sometimes I think."

Bon scratched at Rin's scalp as he stared at Shura in shock.

"What?" He squeaked, blushing as Rin started to purr loudly.

"You heard me," the female exorcist extended her hand out to Rin just as Bon did, not flinching when Rin growled lowly at it. "You treat him like a human _and_ a demon. Demons are instinctual creatures and many think that instinctual means _bad._ Instincts aren't inherently bad, they can be annoying, but..." she shrugged. "It's not a bad thing. Rin suppresses his scenting, scent marking, territorial, protective, hunting, and mating instincts severely."

Bon watched in fascination as Rin panted into Shura's open palm, his nose twitching before he nosed her palm gently. _Cute,_ Bon thought as he continued to pet Rin's hair. Somehow, the warmth that Rin put out was like a furnace and it warmed him up enough to not even notice the cold anymore.

"This isn't healthy though, either," Shura admitted as Rin nuzzled her palm. "The mood swings and the aggression are random and come out of nowhere. Something needs to change before the Vatican finds out. If they find him like _this_ then," she chuckles with no humor behind it, "he'll be killed on sight. This is a pure demon, powerful and skilled. If they don't kill Rin then...they'll break him. Use him as a weapon to take down Satan with no concern for his human half."

Bon gaped at the pink and blonde haired woman, his stomach knotting uncontrollably. This was the most serious he's ever heard her be in a conversation. _Rin's in trouble._

"I'm going to cancel his training tonight, he might kill me." Shura pat Bon on the shoulder. "Can you take him home and make sure he's okay? His tail needs to be bandaged too...be careful with that," she grinned as she strutted away.

"Oi?!" Bon spluttered, whipping around the watch as the pink-haired exorcist walked into the night.

"Where are _you_ going?" He called out.

Shura replied, "I'm going to see what's causing our boy to act like this. You can demon-sit for the time being, so you're in charge of him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid and I'll come tell you what I find out in a bit!"

Bon spluttered at her, the exorcist long gone. Feeling soft hair at his hand, he glanced down to see Rin butting against his hand as he still remained crouched in the ground.

" _Damnit_ ," he groaned.

=====

Getting Rin back to his dorm proved to be a challenge, not that Ryuuji had expected anything less. Rin grumbled, groaned, and tried to constantly pull away from Bon's hold on his hand. The aria considered just hauling Rin's skinny ass on his back and jogging back to the boy's dorm, but the second he had put his arms around the other's waist he had sharp teeth snapped at his face.

"Damnit, Okumura, why can't you be back to normal by now!" Bon growled as Rin tried to tug out of his grip _again._ Rin didn't seem to be back into his own mindset, instead acting more...demonic than usual. Bon cursed Shura for leaving him with the half-demon and also cursed Mr. Okumura for not _answering his damn phone._

Rin scented the air heavily before making a strange warble in the back of his throat.

"Yeah, yeah, Rin, we're close to your home. I wonder how sensitive your nose is then...I wonder if you scent mark around your territory like other demon?"

Rin blinked owlishly at him and Bon blushed. "Yeah I guess you aren't gonna answer."

The half-demon suddenly started pulling Bon's coat sleeve, tugging him forward.

"The hell, Okumura?" Bon spluttered as the dark haired boy used his superior strength to haul him on his back. "Okum-Rin! Put me down!"

The halfling gave no response as he forced the aria onto his back, not straining under the weight at all. In any other circumstance, Bon might've blushed and internally ogled the other's strength, but damnit the dorms were _right there_ and he _promised Shura-_

The taller, _for now,_ teen yelped and clasped his hands together on Rin's chest as the other boy started to _climb_ the old boys dormitory, _climb._ Bon's eyes were wide open as he held his death grip on Rin as the half-demon leapt and bounded on the windowsills with all of grace of a panther. A gust of wind chilled his bones and Ryuuji blushes and and burrowed himself closer to Rin's strong, warm back. _Gosh I hope nobody sees us,_ Ryuuji prayed.

Rin crooned in the back of his throat, turning his neck at a near impossible angle and stealing his breath away with those vibrant, questioning eyes.

"Uh, I'm good," Bon rasped at the teen. He glanced down, _jesus we're high up, are we almost there? There's only two more floors._

Rin scented the air before whipping around the side of the building and scaring the hell outta Ryuuji. He squinted in the night, trying to find Okumura's window and struggling to. The halfling, however, didn't seem to have any trouble. He scuttled around the side of the building, easily spotting the window with his superior night vision and opening the window with one fluid movement.

Bon grunted as Rin forced the both of them through the small window and into his dorm, but he ignored his discomfort to soak in the warmth of the dorm's heater.

"Christ, Rin," the aria heaved himself off of the demon, scowling. "We could've used the door like normal people."

The halfling gave no verbal response and Bon flicked on the light and scanned the dorm.

_Huh, no Okumura-Sensei. I wonder if Rin is alone like this often._

Speaking of Rin, the boy had bolted down the halls of his dorm and Bon slowly trailed behind him. He watched with amusement as he rubbed his shoulders along the door frames and walls, scent marking it.

Bon called out to Rin, unsure if he'd understand him, "Okumura!"

Thankfully, the half-demon did hear him and bounded down the hallway towards him.

 _I didn't think this through,_ Bon thought as the demon with superhuman strength was inches from his face.

"Oof!" Ryuuji spluttered as the slightly shorter boy launched into his arms and wrapped his legs around him. "Okumura..." Bon sighed as the demon nuzzled his neck, his soft hair tickling him.

The aria glanced down as something nudged his pant leg, _oh yeah, his tail._ Bon nearly smacked his head for forgetting, _I need to rewrap his tail._

The demon purred softly in the back of his throat as he carried him back to his shared room. Glancing around, Bon slightly smiled at the mess on the half-demon's side. Manga, knick knacks, and surprisingly educational books littered the unmade bed. The half-demon was a warm and welcoming weight on his front and Ryuuji blushed once again. _Gosh, I'm acting like such a school girl._

A familiar temple caught his eye on one of the book covers and his hand shot out to grab it. _The Myōō Dharani._ Bon's breath was punched out of him, Rin was reading about _his_ temple. He was making and effort to know _him_. _Maybe...he does like me..._

Bon squashed the hope that bloomed in his chest and instead made his way to Yukio's side of the room and emptying out one of the True Cross first aid bags. _Good thing his brother is a doctor, I can't imagine how many times Rin has gotten the shit kicked out of him..._

"Rin, I need you to get off of me so I can wrap your tail," Suguro hoped that calling the dazed boy by his given name would catch his attention more, but it didn't. He sighed, dropping the medical supplies on Rin's bed.

"C'mon," he gently treid to pry the half-demon off of his front and ignored when the sleepy teen growled at him. He stopped getting scared of that shit ages ago. _Sort of._

Finally managing to dump the injured boy on the bed he sat in front of the glaring boy.

_How is he so cute and so infuriating?_

"Alright Okumura, don't kill me..." Suguro shakily grabbed the dark tail and kept his eyes lowered the whole time, not wanting to intimidate the boy's demonic side. Only when the bloody tail was in his lap and his head was still on his body did he look up. Rin's wide, vibrant blue eyes were glued to his face, his expression unreadable. He was somehow not snarling, growling, or sneering at him and Bon marveled in the trust that the other had in him. _I have his most delicate part of his body in my lap_ _,_ _injured_ _,_ _and he's still trusting me._

"Okay, I'm going to unwrap the dirty bandages," Suguro told the knight as his shaking fingers made work of slowly unwrapping the dark red, almost black, crusted bandages. A grunt caused him to look up from his work. He finally made a noise. Ryuuji's breath caught in his throat as the exposed splinter of bone was revealed.

"How is this not healed?" Bon breathed, worry filling him. Rin's healing should've at least swelled the tail and made work to _try_ to fix it, it didn't even look any different from when Yukio had wrapped it after he got injured. "Rin, how are you even _functioning_ right now?" Bon whispered at the half-demon. The boy blinked a him, tears shining in his eyes at the pain.

"Okay, okay, this is going to hurt, I'm so sorry," he whispered at he began to wrap the thick bandages around the boy's tail. Rin's hand whipped out and grasped his wrist, making Bon jump. The bruises that Rin had left hadn't healed yet.

"Shh," Bon cooed as he slowly made his way to the splinter. The grip on his wrist became lighter as Rin started to sniffle.

_Man his tail looks bad..._

Blood crusted in the usually soft fur and made it crunchy and smell. Suguro breifly wondered if the knight could get infected. He steadied his hands and wrapped around the shard of bone as quickly and gently as possible, not flinching when Rin's hand warmed up and a spark of blue floated over his fingers.

"There, done," he panted as he wiped away sweat off of his face, _man that was more intense than I thought._

His vision was suddenly filled with a mop of dark blue hair and azul eyes as the half-demon began to nuzzle against the side of his head.

Bon chuckled, rubbing the boy's back, "thank you for not killing me, man." Rin cooed back at him in response.

Bon blushed, he was in Rin's bed! This was not how he imagined it to go, but it was nice. Rin nuzzled his bed head into his collarbone and he ran his finger through the other boy's thick, dark hair. Sighing and closing his eyes, Bon let all of his stress melt off of his shoulders. School, life, Rin's execution, it didn't matter as long as he was here with Rin.

Ryuuji melted back even further, jumping slightly when he felt something stab uncomfortably into his lower back.

"What the hell," he mumbled, digging around behind him. He grabbed the object and held it in front of his face, confused. _A pill bottle?_ To his knowledge, Rin didn't take any pills, but-

~  
 _"-can hurt you, not that I'd want to, but lately...it's been harder," Rin confessed to them._

_Ryuuji and the others stared at him in shock, not having noticed anything different._

_Yukio spoke up, "don't worry Rin, we'll contact Sir Pheles tomorrow and get you on some meds for your tail and your behavior."_

_Just as he was about to protest that he didn't notice anything different he was stopped by Shima's hand on his arm, a clear warning._

_Rin..._   
_~_

_These must be the pills,_ Bon thought as he tilted the white bottle. The rattling of the pills seemed to stir Rin from his half asleep state and the half-demon lazily outstretched his long neck and parted his lips to scent the air. Ryuuji had a fleeting worry of Rin reacting to the pills, but didn't think much of it. They were his pills, so why would he have a bad feeling about them?

He really should listen to his gut instinct more.

Rin spurred into action, nudging the pills out of the aria's hand and onto the bed. He open-mouth panted against the bottle, growling around the hard plastic when it didn't give around his teeth. Ryuuji stared at the half-demon in his lap and only one thought came to his mind, _desperate._

"Okumura!" Suguro got a hold of Rin's hips as the boy put his ass in his face to crouch down over the pill bottle better.

"You idiot, you're going to destroy the bottle or overdose!"

Growling, Bon gently swiped at the heavily bandaged tail as it smacked him in the face.

_I need to get those pills so Rin doesn't take too many and need his stomach pumped. Hell, I don't even know what's in those pills, I don't know how to help him._

He needed to act _now._

Ryuuji wiggled his feet out from under where Rin was perched on them and brought them close to his chest _, I'm sorry about this Rin,_ Bon thought as he tucked his knees in as tight as they would go. He didn't want to hurt the halfling, but at this point Rin wasn't giving him a choice. The aria stared at the dark haired boy as he gnawed at the pill bottle, internally reminding himself to add that question to the to-do list before he kicked. _Hard._

The halfling was not expecting the blow from behind and a sting went though Bon's heart as he realized it had to be because Rin's demonic side had trusted him enough to have him "watch" his back and felt comfortable enough around Ryuuji to be vulnerable.

_Damn, it's going to take a while to build that up again._

The half-demon howled, landing clumsily due to his injured tail. Quickly, Bon snatched the dented pill bottle and shoved them into his pocked. _I really need to talk to Shura about what spurred that on._ He grimaced as Rin outstretched his arms and pitifully tried to stand up while high whines escaped his throat.

_He literally just went batshit, how am I the one who feels bad ? He's gonna be the death of me._

"Rin?" Bon whispered at the confused halfling. Said boy stumbled around and glared at him, expression murderous. Ryuuji thought about the common saying, _"if looks could kill,"_ and swallowed heavily. Well...there was only one thing he could think about doing. Unscrewing the white pill bottle, he didn't dare take his eyes off of Rin as this eyes dilated like a cats. The halfling stumbled to stand as Bon shook out two small, white pills. _Huh, these little things were what Rin wanted so bad?_

The dark haired boy scrambled forward as Bon held out two pills for him to swallow. _I assume that two is a good dose?_

The aria blushed as Rin seductively swiped up the two pills out of the palm of his hand with his sinfully hot tongue.

"The fuck! W-weirdo!" Ryuuji blushed heavily as he wiped his hand on the back of his pants.

Rin dry swallowed the pills with heavy lidded eyes as he purred low in his throat. Sighing, Bon covered his eyes. Damn, he had a whole mission tomorrow morning and he needed to get back to his dorm, but he also wanted to make sure Rin was safe. Damnit, why couldn't Yukio be home yet? He was brought out of his musing by the dark haired boy butting against his stomach like a cat. The sight caused something to stir low in his stomach and Bon blushed. _Rin wasn't in his right mind, he wouldn't do this normally...or would he?_

"Suguro, _what_ do you think you're doing with my brother?"

Ryuuji almost shot to the _fucking ceiling_ at the cool voice of his teacher coming from the doorway. How did he not hear him coming and why the hell did _Rin_ not warn him?

"Uh..." was Bon's eloquent response. _Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments feed me and I love you all so much! 
> 
> :D

**Author's Note:**

> How did you like it? :0 
> 
> Also this work is open for a beta, as is my other one :)
> 
> My tumblr is @zimny-soldat and it’s where I’m going to start posting more stuff (fanart, chapter updates), etc) :)


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